Panty hose with terry loop crotch insert

ABSTRACT

The panty hose garment is formed of a pair of seamless tubular hosiery blanks which are longitudinally slit and seamed together with an insert secured between the edges of the hosiery blanks and positioned in at least the crotch portion of the panty of the garment. The crotch insert includes a stretchable synthetic body yarn which is of the same character as the yarn of the adjacent portions of the panty hose so that the finished appearance of the insert is substantially the same as the adjacent portions of the panty hose. Terry loops of yarn having a high moisture absorbent character are formed on the inner surface of the crotch insert to provide softness and absorbency in the crotch of the panty hose and the courses of the insert extend transversely thereof so that the insert will stretch to a greater extent in this direction to prevent undue stress on the fabric in the crotch area of the panty hose.

nited States Garrou et al.

*1 tent [191 [451 Oct. 7, 11975 PANTY HOSE WITH TERRY LOOP CROTCH INSERT [73] Assignee: Pilot Research Corporation,

Valdese, NC.

[22] Filed: Sept. 5, 1974 [211 App]. No.: 503,292

[52] US. Cl 2/224 R [51] Int. Cl. A41B 9/04 [58] Field of Search 2/224 R, 224 A, 225, 226,

3,757,354 Moody 2/224 R Primary ExaminerH. Hampton Hunter Attorney, Agent, or FirmParrott, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson [57] ABSTRACT The panty hose garment is formed of a pair of seamless tubular hosiery blanks which are longitudinally slit and seamed together with an insert secured between the edges of the hosiery blanks and positioned in at least the crotch portion of the panty of the garment. The crotch insert includes a stretchable synthetic body yarn which is of the same character as the yarn of the adjacent portions of the panty hose so that the finished appearance of the insert is substantially the same as the adjacent portions of the panty hose. Terry loops of yarn having a high moisture absorbent character are formed on the inner surface of the crotch insert to provide softness and absorbency in the crotch of the panty hose and the courses of the insert extend transversely thereof so that the insert will stretch to a greater extent in this direction to prevent undue stress on the fabric in the crotch area of the panty hose.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PANTY HOSE WITH TERRY LOOP CROTCH INSERT The present invention relates generally to panty hose garments and more particularly to such a garment including a crotch insert formed of separately knit fabric including terry loops on the inside surface thereof to provide softness and absorbency in the crotch portion of the panty hose.

It is well known to form panty hose garments of a pair of seamless tubular hosiery blanks which are provided with vertical slits and seamed together, either with or without a crotch insert. This general type of panty hose is disclosed in US. Pat. No. RE. 25,360, granted Mar. 26, 1963. When this type of panty hose is formed entirely of nylon yarn, which has very little moisture absorbent property, there is a tendency for moisture to be retained on the body of the wearer, particularly in the crotch area. This moisture retention in the crotch area has been found to be a dominant factor in the prevalence of vaginitis. Also, some wearers of panty hose have an allergy to nylon when worn in this area of the body which causes irritation and inflamation.

In an attempt to prevent the retention of moisture in the crotch area of panty hose wearers, it has recently been proposed in US. Pat. No. 3,815,156, granted June I l, 1974, to provide an open mesh type crotch insert to provide ventilation in this area of the panty hose. While this type of panty hose may be of some value in combating the problem of vaginitis, this type of panty hose does not provide relief of those wearers who experience irritation and inflamation from an allergic condition in this area. Also, the open mesh crotch patch of this type panty hose does not provide the amount of opacity in this area of the panty hose which is desired by some wearers.

US. Pat. No. 3,757,354 discloses knitting terry loops in selected portions of the hosiery blanks which are used in forming the panty hose. The terry loops construction may be provided throughout the panty portion of the panty hose or may be provided in a selected area adjacent the lower ends of the slits formed in the hosiery blanks. Because of the fine gauge of the machines on which panty hose blanks are knit it is not possible to knit a terry yarn of sufficient size to provide any effective moisture absorbency. Also, the formation of terry loops throughout a substantial portion of the panty portion of the panty hose increases the overall weight and opacity of the entire panty portion and would not be desirable to some wearers.

With the foregoing in mind it is an object of the present invention to provide a panty hose garment which is formed of conventionally knitted stocking blanks which are slit and then provided with a separately knit crotch insert which is knit of a stretchable synthetic body yarn with cotton yarn terry loops on one side. The crotch insert is secured in at least the crotch portion of the panty of the panty hose so that the amount of stress on adjacent areas of the'panty hose is reduced and the inwardly projecting terry loops provide softness and absorbency in the crotch of the panty hose garment.

In accordance with the present invention, the separately knit crotch insert includes weft knit courses and wales which are knit of stretchable synthetic body yarn having substantially the same affinity for dye as the stretchable synthetic yarn of which adjacent portions of the hosiery blanks are knit so that the finished appearance of the crotch insert is substantially the same as ad jacent portions of the panty hose garments. The terry loops on the inner surface of the crotch insert are knit of a yarn having greater moisture absorbency than the body yarn, such as cotton. The courses of the insert extend transversely thereof and across the crotch portion from one leg extension of the panty garment to the other so that the crotch insert will stretch to a greater extent in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction and thereby relieve the normal stress applied on the fabric in the crotch area.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the panty hose of the present invention, as it would appear when worn;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the panty hose compo nents, before assembly, and illustrating only the upper portions of the elongated hosiery blanks which have been slit in a walewise direction in preparation for securing the crotch insert therebetween;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the shape of one type of crotch insert with the terry loops side upward;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 in FIG. I and illustrat ing the manner in which the diamond-shaped insert is connected between the hosiery blanks and in the crotch area of the panty hose;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged isometric view of a fragmentary portion of the terry loop fabric in the insert shown in FIG. 3 and illustrating the manner in which the cotton yarn loops extend upwardly from one face of the fabric;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a modified type of crotch insert; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating the manner in which the panel type crotch insert of FIG. 6 is incorporated between the hosiery blanks forming the panty hose.

The panty hose of the present invention includes a pair of seamless tubular hosiery blanks, broadly indicated at 10 and 11. Extensions at the upper ends of the hosiery blanks 10, 11 are integrally knit with the legs and are provided with longitudinal or walewise extending slits 12, 13 which may be joined together as by a single U-shaped seam to form a panty portion. However, in accordance with the present invention, a crotch insert is provided in at least the crotch portion of the panty, of a construction and in a manner to be presently described.

The hosiery blanks 10, 1 l are provided with the usual foot and leg portions and the upper extensions which form the panty portion are preferably knit of a heavy denier yarn, for example, a 40 denier stretchable textured synthetic yarn, such as nylon. Any desired stitch construction may be employed in the leg and panty portion of each of the hosiery blanks and the lower leg portions are usually knit of a finer denier yarn, for example of less than 30 denier, which has been textured to provide stretchability thereto.

In order to provide softness and absorbency in the crotch area of the panty hose and to prevent undue stress on the fabric of the panty hose in the crotch area, a separately knit crotch insert, broadly indicated at 15., is secured between the slits l2 and 13 and in at least the crotch portion of the panty, The crotch insert 15, illustrated in FIG. 3 is diamond-shaped and is cut from circular knit fabric which is knit on a large diameter 18 cut knitting machine. This type of knitting machine is normally adapted to knit yarn of about 70 denier of larger. However, in the present instance the body yarn of the insert 15, indicated at B in FIG. 5, is a 40 denier stretchable synthetic yarn. This insert 15 is also provided with terry loops which extend inwardly from the inner face of the insert, as illustrated in FIG. 5, and are formed of cotton yarn, indicated at T in FIG. 5. The terry loops may be formed by any one of several wellknown methods so that the terry yarn is knit in plated relationship with the body yarn B in the needle wales W-l through W-4 and in the courses C-l through C4. The terry yarn T forms terry loops in the sinker wales between the needle wales. The terry yarn T is preferably of a cotton count of 40 single.

The body yarn B is of the same type as the yarn of which the adjacent areas of the extensions are knit so that both of these yarns have the same affinity for dye and so that the finished appearance of the insert 15 is substantially the same as the appearance of adjacent portions of the panty hose. The cotton yarn terry loops have about 4 or 5 times the capacity to absorb moisture as the nylon body yarn to provide a great capacity for moisture absorbency in the crotch area of the panty hose while the upstanding terry loops provide softness in this area.

The diamond-shaped crotch insert (FIG. 3) is preferably about 4 inches across the medial portion and is approximately 8 inches from one end to the other so that the crotch is two times as long as it is wide. The weft knit courses extend transversely of the crotch insert and from one side to the other while the wales extend longitudinally thereof so that the insert will stretch to a greater extent in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction.

The insert 15 is secured between the hosiery blanks and in the crotch of the panty hose by a first seam 16 (FIG. 4) which extends downwardly from the waist opening at the rear of the panty hose and along the right hand side of the crotch insert 15. A second seam 17 extends along the other side of the crotch insert 15 and up to the waist opening at the front of the panty hose. Since the crotch insert 15 will stretch to a greater extent in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction, this insert reduces the amount of stress on the fabric in the panty portion when the garment is worn. Also, the nylon body yarn B adds strength and stretch to the insert while the cotton yarn terry loops provide moisture absorbency.

When the insert 15 is knit of the same size yarn as the panty portion of the garment, i.e., 40 denier textured nylon, and knit on an 18 cut machine, the relax knit fabric is found to have from to stitches per inch in both the eoursewise and walewise direction. The fabric in the adjacent areas of the panty hose. when knit on a circular hosiery knitting machine having approximately 400 needles and of a 40 denier textured nylon yarn, has approximately 50 wales and courses per inch. Thus, the appearance of the knit fabric in the crotch insert 15 is not substantially different from the appearance of the knit fabric in the adjacent areas so that the terry crotch insert does not distract from the appearance of the panty hose.

When the panty hose is produced for wear by larger size women, it is preferred a crotch insert panel, such as that illustrated at 15' in FIG. 6, be secured between the hosiery blanks 10' and 11, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7. The crotch insert 15 has inwardly tapering opposite side edges at the lower end and may have straight parallel side edges to the upper end, as illustrated in FIG. 6. If desired, the opposite side edges may gradually taper inwardly or outwardly to vary the shape of the garment. The crotch insert panel 15' is secured between the hosiery blanks by a seam 16 which extends from the waist opening at the rear of the garment and down along one side of the insert panel 15. An additional seam 17 is provided along the other side of the insert channel 15 and extends up the front of the garment to the waist opening.

The terry loop crotch in the panty hose of the present invention thus provides softness and absorbency in the crotch area of the panty hose and will stretch to a greater extent in the transverse direction than the longitudinal direction to thereby prevent undue stress on the fabric of the panty hose in the crotch area. Also, the crotch insert has substantially the same knit appearance, from the outside of the panty hose, as the remainder of the adjacent parts thereof so that it does not distract from the appearance of the gamient.

In the drawings and specification here has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed is:

l. A panty hose garment including a pair of seamless tubular legs, a panty portion formed of extensions integrally knit with said legs, said extensions being longitudinally slit and seamed together, and an insert secured between the edges of said extensions and in at least the crotch portion of said panty, said extensions being knit of stretchable synthetic yarn, said insert including weft knit courses and wales knit of stretchable synthetic body yarn having substantially the same affinity for dye as said stretchable synthetic yarn of which said extensions are knit so that the finished appearance of said insert is substantially the same as adjacent portions of said extensions, said insert including terry loops on the inner surface thereof and being knit of a yarn having greater moisture absorbency properties than said body yarn to provide softness and absorbency in the crotch of said panty hose garment, and the courses of said insert extending transversely thereof and from one extension to the other while the wales of said insert extend longitudinally thereof so that said insert will stretch to a greater extent in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction to prevent undue stress on the fabric of said extensions and in the areas adjacent the lower ends of the slits in the extensions when the garment is worn.

2. A patny hose garment according to claim 1 wherein said stretchable synthetic body yarn of said insert and said stretchable synthetic yarn of said extensions are each nylon and of substantially the same size.

3. A panty hose garment according to claim 2 wherein said synthetic body yarn of said insert and said stretchable synthetic yarn of said extensions are each approximately 40 denier.

4. A panty hose garment according to claim 1 wherein the yarn of which said terry loops are formed is cotton.

5. A panty hose garment according to claim 1 wherein said insert is diamond-shaped and approximately two times as long as it is wide. 

1. A panty hose garment including a pair of seamless tubular legs, a panty portion formed of extensions integrally knit with said legs, said extensions being longitudinally slit and seamed together, and an insert secured between the edges of said extensions and in at least the crotch portion of said panty, said extensions being knit of stretchable synthetic yarn, said insert including weft knit courses and wales knit of stretchable synthetic body yarn having substantially the same affinity for dye as said stretchable synthetic yarn of which said extensions are knit so that the finished appearance of said insert is substantially the same as adjacent portions of said extensions, said insert including terry loops on the inner surface thereof and being knit of a yarn having greater moisture absorbency properties than said body yarn to provide softness and absorbency in the crotch of said panty hose garment, and the courses of said insert extending transversely thereof and from one extension to the other while the wales of said insert extend longitudinally thereof so that said insert will stretch to a greater extent in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction to prevent undue stress on the fabric of said extensions and in the areas adjacent the lower ends of the slits in the extensions when the garment is worn.
 2. A patny hose garment according to claim 1 wherein said stretchable synthetic body yarn of said insert and said stretchable synthetic yarn of said extensions are each nylon and of substantially the same size.
 3. A panty hose garment according to claim 2 wherein said synthetic body yarn of said insert and said stretchable synthetic yarn of said extensions are each approximately 40 denier.
 4. A panty hose garment according to claim 1 wherein the yarn of which said terry loops are formed is cotton.
 5. A panty hose garment according to claim 1 wherein said insert is diamond-shaped and approximately two times as long as it is wide. 